Andy Bickers, the New Zealand-born saxophonist whose playing became a defining element of Cold Chisel’s live sound across more than three decades, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 56.

Cold Chisel confirmed his death on Friday morning in a statement posted to social media. “Our much-loved sax player of more than 30 years, Andy Bickers, passed away this morning after a hard-fought battle with cancer,” the Instagram post said.

“Andy was our brother: an incredible musician and a great person to be out on the road or out on the town with. His valuable contribution onstage to songs like ‘Rising Sun’, ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘My Baby’ will be sorely missed.’

“Our hearts break for his wife Lisa and his son Rudy,” the band added.

Frontman Jimmy Barnes — whose touring band gave Bickers his entry point into the upper tier of Australian rock — paid tribute separately. “Andy also toured many times with me, playing soul and rock shows,” Barnes wrote.

“We were friends not only because he was a great player, but he was funny, intelligent, and most importantly, he was a good man.

“Lots of love to Lisa and Rudy. You will be sadly missed, Andy,” he added.

ICEHOUSE’s Iva Davies also paid tribute to Bickers, reflecting on having recently performed with him.

“I am saddened and very sorry to hear the news about the loss of Andy Bickers,” Davies wrote in a message shared on ICEHOUSE’s social media. “We saw and performed with him only a few weeks ago.”

“Andy was a consummate musician as attested by the great array of people he performed and collaborated with along with the many he mentored and inspired,” Davies continued. “He will be truly missed by all of us within the ICEHOUSE team and by the Australian music community.”

“Our thoughts are with his family,” Davies added.

Born in Wellington, Bickers spent the 1980s working the local rock scene before relocating to Australia, first to Melbourne and then Sydney, where his tenor and baritone playing quickly established him as one of the country’s most reliable session and touring musicians. His breakthrough came via Barnes’ touring band, and by the early 2000s he had become a fixture in Cold Chisel’s live lineup.

His résumé extended well beyond Chisel. Bickers toured with Midnight Oil, Silverchair, the Eagles, Don Henley and Diesel, and recorded or performed with You Am I, the Presets, Hoodoo Gurus, Tony Hadley, and Vika and Linda.

Midnight Oil also paid tribute on social media, noting that one of his final performances was leading the brass section during a tribute to Rob Hirst at the 2026 APRA Awards.

Richard Clapton also remembered the musician, writing, “It is with heavy heart that I have to let you know that our beloved sax player Andy Bickers passed away yesterday. I have played The State Theatre 16 times and Andy was with us for virtually every one of those concerts, and made ‘Wintertime in Amsterdam’ such a special moment in the shows history. The song is not going to be quite the same this year.”

Formed in Adelaide in 1973, Cold Chisel remain one of the most commercially significant bands in Australian history, with a catalog that has produced multiple No. 1 albums on the ARIA Albums Chart. Bickers’ saxophone was central to the live renditions of some of the band’s most enduring songs, and his work across thousands of concerts and recording sessions made him one of the most quietly ubiquitous figures in Australian rock.

Hate it or love it, the underdog’s on top. 50 Cent celebrated receiving three Emmy nominations on Wednesday (July 8) for his work producing his Diddy documentary, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, for Netflix.

“Everybody had something to say when I announced it… now the Emmys got something to say too,” 50 boasted in a post on Instagram shortly after the nods were revealed. “3 Emmy nominations for Sean Combs: The Reckoning. You can’t argue with the work.”

The docuseries picked up nominations for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series, outstanding directing for a documentary/nonfiction program and outstanding picture editing for a nonfiction program.

The G-Unit boss received plenty of love in his comments from the likes of Busta Rhymes. “Congrats & Happy Belated Born Day King,” Busta wrote.

When 50 originally announced plans for a Diddy docuseries in 2024, many thought he was up to his typical trolling ways, but that was far from the case. The Reckoning arrived in December 2025 and immediately stirred conversation surrounding Diddy. The docuseries was broken down into four parts, detailing the rise and fall of the disgraced Bad Boy mogul, as well as a deep-dive into the history of Combs’ alleged sexual abuse tied to his federal sex trafficking case.

“I’ve been committed to real storytelling for years through G-Unit Film and Television,” 50 said in a statement when the docuseries was released. “I’m grateful to everyone who came forward and trusted us with their stories, and proud to have Alexandria Stapleton as the director on the project to bring this important story to the screen.”

Diddy was sentenced to 50 months behind bars in October 2025 for violating federal prostitution laws, but dodged much more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

Next up for 50’s film and TV empire, he’s in promo mode for Fightland. The boxing crime drama is set to premiere on Starz on July 31, and the Queens legend is promising he’s got another Power on his hands.

Ariana Grande will not appear in the 13th season of American Horror Story after all, with her exit driven by a scheduling conflict with her ongoing Eternal Sunshine Tour, according to THR.

Grande was announced as part of the AHS Season 13 cast on Halloween 2025, marking her first appearance on the Ryan Murphy anthology series and a reunion with the producer following her role on his 2015 series Scream Queens. But a recently released teaser for the season, subtitled 13, did not feature her, with reports that a change to the show’s production schedule had created a direct conflict with her set tour dates. Grande did not shoot any scenes for the season.

The timing lines up with a run of scheduling turbulence for the singer’s live show. AHS Season 13 began production in April, and Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour launched June 6 in Oakland. In late June, she rescheduled three of her own tour dates — moving a July 12 Brooklyn show to July 14 and shifting two Boston concerts from July 22 and 24 to July 23 and 26 — citing production issues on her end. The tour continues through stops in New York, Canada and Chicago before wrapping overseas.

American Horror Story: 13 moves forward with a returning ensemble that includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd and Jessica Lange, alongside director John Waters. The season, which reunites several cast members reprising their Coven characters, is set to premiere Sept. 24 on FX before streaming on Hulu.

For Grande, the acting detour was always secondary to the tour driving it. Eternal Sunshine — her seventh studio album, released in 2024 — has powered her first headlining run since 2019’s Sweetener World Tour, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for her sixth career chart-topping album and spinning off two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles. Her eighth album, Petal, arrives July 31, led by “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” which recently gave her a 10th career Hot 100 No. 1 — tying her for 10th-most in the chart’s history.

Her film work isn’t disappearing, either: she’s set to appear next in the Meet the Parents sequel Focker-In-Law, due out this fall.

This week brought new releases from music superstars in the worlds of rock, pop, Latin, hip-hop, K-pop and beyond — but what was your favorite release of the week?

Kicking things off with pop royalty, Beyoncé surprise-released the R&B-tinged new single “Morning Dew (Donk)” last weekend. Switching gears to rock & roll, The Rolling Stones returned with their 25th studio album Foreign Tongues. In the rap space, Future delivered his new album The Real Me. And YEONJUN from K-pop quintet TOMORROW X TOGETHER is back with Part 02 from his No Labels series.

Other big drops: Suki Waterhouse’s third album Loveland, Teddy Swims’ new single “Break Up in Reverse,” The Linda Lindas and Hayley Williams’ team-up “Closer,” Chris Lake and Tiga’s “Party Time” featuring Aatig, Feid’s “A Xon De Que” and Coco Jones’ “Body So Tea.”

And that’s still not all! We also have Chris Avantgarde’s Hyperreal, Melanie Santiler’s “Gataza,” Jahmiel’s Against All Odds, Maddie Lenhart’s “Empty Room” and Wyatt Flores’ “Scared of Heights.”

All those choices, but which one is your favorite this week? Revisit our full New Music Friday Guide here, and make your selection below.

We don’t know all the details of what went down inside Madison Square Garden during Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s July 3 wedding last week, but now we know how much they had to pay so they could host the event in the thick of New York City.

During a press conference on Friday (July 10), NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani was asked by a reporter whether Swift would be paying back the city for police overtime needed to support her wedding weekend events in Midtown Manhattan, and the politician confirmed that she already has.

“Taylor Swift … has paid already the cost of the permit that was lodged, which was over $160,000 for that event and for the response to that event,” Mamdani told reporters. “That was a permit that was finalized, I think, in just the days before the event itself.”

The security permit included street closures and traffic management around the famed arena, starting with a rehearsal dinner event on July 2 through the wedding itself on July 3.

Most details have been kept under wraps, but in a press release announcing Swift and Kelce’s marriage, Swift’s rep confirmed that the pop superstar and football player wore outfits designed by Christian Dior Haute Couture; that the couple did not have traditional bridesmaids or groomsmen, but Swift’s brother Austin was her man of honor while Jason Kelce was Travis’ best man; and that actor/comedian Adam Sandler officiated the nuptials.

Two performers at the event have been reported as well, with Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts confirming that Stevie Nicks took the stage, and People sharing that Paul McCartney performed The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for the first time since 1963 at the MSG wedding.

Return of the Mac. Drake has wagered a $1 million bet on Conor McGregor to win in his return to the ring this weekend at UFC 329.

Drake posted his betting slip on Instagram on Friday (July 10) featuring a seven-figure wager on Stake with the belief that McGregor will defeat Max Holloway in McGregor’s comeback to the octagon in Las Vegas on Saturday night (July 11).

Drake’s $1 million wager would net him $1.85 million for a total of $2.85 million if McGregor wins the welterweight bout. As of press time, Conor McGregor is an underdog in the fight with +180 odds, according to FanDuel.

McGregor and Drake have been friends for a decade now after the UFC fighter revealed they connected in 2016 and met at one of Drizzy’s Summer Sixteen Tour stops later that year.

“I’m a big fan of Drake. I had a meeting with Jimmy Iovine of Apple and he invited me to the show,” McGregor said in an interview with UFC’s Meghan Olivi. “I’d spoke to Drake before the first Diaz fight – he reached out and messaged me – and we’ve been in contact since then.”

McGregor invited Drake to join him on stage at the weigh-in for his fight against Khabib at UFC 229 in October 2018, which found the 6 God sporting an Irish flag in support of McGregor on his back.

Drake is no stranger to gambling. He’s been locked in betting on the FIFA World Cup, which included a $1 wager on Morocco in an attempt to jinx the African nation in their match-up against Canada, but that didn’t end up working out for Drizzy. He also posted a clip hitting a $30 million jackpot while playing in the Stake casino earlier in July.

On the music front, Drake released a trifecta of albums in May, with ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR debuting in top three slots of the Billboard 200. ICEMAN‘s “Janice STFU” also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Drizzy the most chart-topping hits of any male soloist.

Find Drake’s betting slip below.

Hilary Duff has been bringing Y2K nostalgia to every night of her Lucky Me Tour since it kicked off last month, and across two sold-out nights at the L.A.-area Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, she turned back the calendar to 2004 with a very personal throwback T-shirt.

Duff wore her very own 2004 concert tee for the occasion, which includes photos of the then-16-year-old pop star/actress on the front and the back and a full list of that year’s tour dates on the back. She also started selling a reprint of the tee at Forum merch booths and on her website.

As seen in Billboard‘s video from Thursday below, Duff wore the tee to perform her 2003 single “Why Not” from The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack and her Metamorphosis album. Duff also re-recorded the song for her (Mine) EP this year as a well as a Walmart-exclusive version of her most recent album, February’s Luck… or Something.

Billboard caught up with Duff backstage at the Forum for an Aperol Spritz meet-and-greet, where she was asked about a fan interaction she’ll remember long after her tour ends.

“A more recent interaction was actually with the sweetest 8-year-old who was excited to see me — but I do think her mom was even more excited secretly,” Duff laughed. “They told me it was her first concert and that I was also the mother’s first concert, which is an amazing full-circle moment while I’m in such a thick part of my own life, returning to music and motherhood.”

The Lucky Me Tour continues Saturday night in Mountain View, California, and extends through early next year in Mexico City.

BTS are bringing their immersive “BTS The City ARIRANG” experience to New York. The group announced on Friday (July 10) that following successful earlier editions in Seoul, Las Vegas, Busan and London, the traveling exhibition will open in New York City on July 24 and stay open through Aug. 3 in conjunction with the K-pop supergroup’s world tour in support of their ARIRANG album.

According to a release, “the citywide project will transform New York into an immersive extension of the concert experience, where fans can experience BTS’ music, storytelling, and artistry far beyond the concert stage.”

BTS is gearing up to perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Aug. 1 and 2 and “BTS The City ARIRANG NEW YORK” will give ARMY a chance to check out a diverse group of attractions and experiences across New York, including at the Korean Cultural Center New York, where ARMY can customize their light sticks and another at Grand Central Terminal, where “THE CITY” banners will be displayed and fans can customize T-shirts. There will also be a Samsung Galaxy Experience booth at the Korean Cultural Center with a chance to get some limited-edition BTS THE CITY merch and craft one-of-a-kind stickers, as well as a display of some of the band’s iconic stage outfits from the “LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF” concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Other experiences throughout New York include, a citywide stamp rally at Bank of Hope, as well as fan events including Random Play Dance with I LOVE DANCE and exclusive offerings from local partners such as Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, Kim’s Kimbap and others. Some of the details of the experiences have not yet been announced, but the list includes a BTS pop-up shop and brand activations with a range of restaurants and hotels.

BTS’ tour in support of their ARIRANG album will hit Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on Saturday (July 11) and Sunday (July 12).

Check out a map and schedule with the full list of “BTS The City ARIRANG NEW YORK” events here.